In Episode 18 of the Soccer Geeks podcast, our host Jason spoke with Wells Thompson, CEO, and co-founder of Soccer Resilience. Thompson had a 9-year professional soccer career that spanned several teams and featured wins in the MLS Cup and the US Open Cup.
Today, in his work with Soccer Resilience, Thompson marries his passion for soccer with his desire to help others reach their full mental, physical, and emotional potential both on and off the field. We’ve spoken with several other guests who’ve discussed the importance of the mental aspect of the game, and it was a ton of fun to delve into this conversation with Thompson.
If you listened to the episode, be sure to check out the video version to see the costume that Thompson shows up in at the beginning!
Over the course of our conversation, it was clear that Thompson’s dedication to and passion for mental (and holistic) well-being originates in his experience growing up. He credits his parents as a strong influence on his development as a player. Through his rejections from ODP and his wins, his dad especially encouraged him, but without making it about himself. Thompson shared a pivotal moment after winning the Charleston, SC tournament, where his dad said to him, “You’re gonna be the best man. You have a gift, Wells. And that you can use the gift to give back and love other people.”
His parents also made some hard decisions; Thompson was sent to a school for troubled kids in New York for 18 months. He credits that difficult decision with saving his life and his future career. Thompson went on to play at the collegiate level and then professionally after that.
When Thompson finished his career as a professional player, he got into Ultra running, running races that were 100 miles, 65 miles, and 50 miles long. He shared with us that this is where he started to realize, “Oh my God, everything is mental. Raising your kids: it is mental. Doing a podcast: that is mental. How we think affects everything. And I think too—just a little caveat here is if you don’t separate it. You don’t take your brain out and go train your brain. Your physical, your spiritual… it’s all connected.”
The rest of our conversation delved more into this idea of how to train your brain. The secret? Short bursts throughout the day, not two-hour stretches of meditating in the dark. To learn more, check out the full episode.
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